HR reviewer Lamat R Hasan picks her favourite read of 2024

My most interesting reads this year were two books on Barkatullah Bhopali, the fiery Indian revolutionary who set up a provisional Indian government-in-exile in Kabul on December 1, 1915, and was its Prime Minister. M Irfan wrote Barkatullah Bhopali in 1969 and Sayyad Abid Ali Vajdi al-Husaini, whose book was commissioned by the Madhya Pradesh Urdu Academy, wroteMaulana Barkatullah Bhopali in 1986. Barkatullah Bhopali, the forgotten revolutionary: “Both Irfan and Husaini dwell on Barkatullah’s extensive travels – right from the time he was forced to leave India in the 1880s. He launched a barrage of articles and speeches condemning British policies, and stressed the need for Hindu-Muslim unity during the freedom struggle.” For his material, Irfan reached out to Barkatullah’s colleagues, most importantly Raja Mahendra Pratap, who was the President of the provisional Indian government-in-exile.